Day 12: Practice Makes Perfect: Form Great Habits!

Day 12 and we have made it to another weekend. It is my hope that you made it through last weekend without it actually being a weak-end lol, and if you did I encourage you to do the same this weekend, and if you didn’t, I encourage you to pick yourself up and get it right this weekend and then keep doing the same thing over and over again. Repetition is the easiest way to form habits. It may seem dull, it may be boring, but before you know it will be a part of what you “normally” do it will be a habit. So today I want to talk about forming good habits.

In our society, like most things that are neither positive nor negative, the word habit has taken on a bad connotation. The word itself is actually defined as an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary. There is nothing innately bad about the word, but most people associate habits with bad things like biting your nails, or saying “like” every two words (one I personally hate lol), or in our case eating badly, being lazy, not caring about your appearance, etcetera, etcetera…Well I want to look at the real definition of the word and encourage you to make eating right and exercising patterns you follow so regularly that it becomes almost involuntary. That is how you will incorporate the changes you have made in the past 12 days and will be making for the next 28 days, into a part of your lifestyle. It has become a habit for you to get up at a certain time and go through a routine every morning when you’re getting ready for work. You have done it so much at this point you could probably do it with your eyes closed. Even when you aren’t working you still feel an urge to get up at a certain time because it is a habit, it is second nature, you do it so much you just do involuntarily even when you don’t want to; and that is how we this new way of eating and getting active to become to you.

Watch out though, because even good habits can become bad ones; so we want you to be mindful so you don’t turn this good habit into a bad addiction. There are several people out there who are addicted to exercising or refusing to eat just because they want to keep the weight off. This is not the plan we have in mind for you and we hope you share the same sentiment. Missing a workout because you are tired or had an extraordinary long list of things to do is okay, as long as you don’t find yourself making up excuses for not working out every other day. Eating a burger from a fast food joint every once and a while (WHEN THESE 40 DAYS ARE THROUGH OF COURSE) is fine as long as you don’t make it one of your meals everyday. What I am saying here is that this habit should not equal fanatic or addiction. Remember, the definition says almost involuntary, which means you aren’t compelled to do it so much as you are to breathe which really is involuntary, but that for all practical purposes you do it.

So make these next 28 days habit forming, find ways to enjoy it so you want to keep doing it, eat right and exercise to the point where it become almost involuntary, but not an addiction. Again, remember to play it safe this weekend. Have fun, live your life, but don’t lose focus and get off track. You have done great so far, but you can do even better!